The Grown-Up Business Blog Helping Business Owners Solve Problems

- even though you’re working hard! You’re not disorganised. Your business just isn’t clear. Most small business owners I work with say some version of this: “I just need to get more organised.” But when we look a little closer, that’s not actually the problem. They’re not lazy. They’re not lacking discipline. And they’re definitely […]

Companies fall into two camps, they either plan for the calendar year or for the tax year. For those on the calendar cycle, this is the half-time whistle. Time to regroup for a much improved second half. Just watch England’s first round World Cup match to see how 2 halves can be very different. For […]

So we have yet another Prime Minister coming into the job. How would you feel if you were about to see your seventh CEO in ten years? Each one arrives with a slightly—sometimes radically—different view of the organisation. Momentum is lost, confidence drifts, and people start to wait it out rather than lean in. Whether […]

People in happy places build happy teams. Do you have the right person in the right seat? Yesterday I was in my happy place. Playing golf on the Littlestone Links for the first time in a year. On the drive home I was mulling over why is it my happy place and do I have […]

Is it any wonder UK business growth remains subdued? Rupert Soames, head of the CBI, recently said politicians have a “shocking lack of understanding of business.” From where I sit, that’s hard to argue with. Because despite the ambition to grow, many businesses are being held back—not by lack of ideas or intent, but by […]

Planning doesn’t start when you sit at your desk. It starts the day before. You’ve heard the phrase, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” But it’s not about being busy. It’s about having clarity. Why Busy People Get Things Done The people who consistently deliver aren’t reacting to the day. […]

It’s planning season. And in many businesses, the process still starts the same way: The FD sets a number. A percentage up.A percentage down.Or a target that needs to “fit the budget.” But here’s the real question: Is that number based on a plan—or is the plan being built around the number? Budget Led Planning […]

If 2016 feels distant, 2036 will feel like another universe entirely. The next decade will reshape business more dramatically than the last twenty years combined. For SMEs, the future isn’t something to fear—it’s something to prepare for. The entrepreneurs who thrive in 2036 will be the ones who understand that the world is shifting from […]

I'm jumping on the 2016 bandwagon! What was happening in 2016 for small businesses? Does 2016 give as an idea on how current trends may play out...?